Page 2 of Love in Excess

I gently pull her back into my chest to steady her. “We’re going to get you checked out, alright? How hard did you hit your head?” She mumbles something incoherent before sagging against me. Fuck, I don’t like that. I gather up in my arms and head for the ambulance, nodding to Teddy that we need to wrap this up. Seeing the Beta on the ground sitting up, we’ll be able to leave as soon as the police are here.

The Omega groans as she buries her face into my chest. “Fuck, Hunter’s gonna be so mad,” she mutters, her voice thick with frustration and something like guilt. That rose scent clings to me, a hint of something else lingering beneath it. A faint tinge of teakwood that tells me she has someone else.

A mate.

Ignoring everything about that but making sure she’s okay, I throw open the back doors and climb into the rig before setting her gently on the stretcher. “Who’s Hunter?” I ask, keeping my tone neutral as I hook her up to a monitor and check her vitals. Her pulse is a little fast, but other than the vomiting, there are no other visual signs.

“My Alpha,” she says, wincing as she shifts. “I told him I’d be fine, and now… this. Shit, I don’t feel so good.” She presses a hand to her head, and I catch a flicker of defiance in her eyes, like she’s mad at herself for being vulnerable.

An Alpha. Of course, this beautiful Omega has an Alpha. The thought lands like a stone in my gut, and I hate that I know why it stings. She can’t be mine. Not that I would let her be. Every time I let someone in, they always leave.

So, now it’s just me and Jasmine against the world.

“Deep breaths, Celeste,” I say, watching as she settles back against the cot, her pupils half-lidded. The pliant smile on her lips begs something more than just contentment, almost like she’s waiting for my next command. However, I don’t have one. I just want her to relax. “Can you tell me why he’s laid out on the floor?”

That smile widens, her pupils dilating a little as if she’s coming back to reality. “Because after I hit the pavement, I got up and punched him in the neck.” Her lips curl further into a deviant grin before she winces, her fingers moving up to massage her temple again. “Someone else knocked him out, though. I didn’t see who. I should have known he was a walking red flag. He took me out for oysters.”

I chuckle. “Celeste, oysters are pretty expensive. Why is that a red flag?”

“Because I don’t like oysters. I told him that before, you know?” Her eyes meet mine, searching for something.

“But you still went?”

“Because he’s perfect on paper,” she muses. “And I don’thateoysters, but I think that’s why I threw up.” She winces again, and while the oysters might not have been sitting well with her, there’s definitely something wrong with her head.

“Okay, hotshot,” I throw at her. “We’re going to take you for a few scans.” I pause as Teddy comes up to the rig. “You got everything squared away?”

Teddy nods. “Yeah, police just showed up, and the Beta refused medical attention. We going to Star?”

“Yeah, need to do a few scans to make sure nothing’s wrong but apparently Celeste here is a badass because she clocked that Beta.”

Teddy sighs, closing up the back doors but not before saying, “Good. He’s an asshole.”

Silence filters into the space as I check on Celeste’s vitals again, the whimper that steals my attention breaking my heart. “You want me to call someone? Hunter, maybe?”

“No, I’ll do it.” Her voice is much smaller than it was before and it takes everything in me not to drag her into my arms and hold her until she relaxes.

CELESTE

My nerves are shot and I’m barely holding it together, my head throbbing like someone took a hammer to it. My scent’s gone all bitter too, my stomach churning from eating one too many oysters and yet, the Beta sitting beside me is keeping me from completely falling apart.

All golden hair and warm hazel-green eyes that screamsafeand that delicious hazelnut-coffee scent that’s doing all sorts of things to my insides.Why the fuck didn’t I go on a date with someone more like Lincoln?

A heavy sigh falls from my lips but it comes out more like a strangled whine, the pounding in my head increasing until I’m squeezing my eyes shut and flailing around for something to grab. Hunter is always here in moments like this, moments when I need someone to ground me. It’s also one of the fewmoments I let myself completely give in to my Omega. Because he’s there.

But he’s not here right now.

Which means I need to keep it together.

A soft hand grabs mine and squeezes, sudden relief coursing through me. I’m not even sure Lincoln knows what he’s doing to me. He’s probably just giving the best bedside manner he can but I’m resisting the urge to crawl into his lap and disappear from the world.

There’s a lot of clicks and shuffling, my eyes opening to see Lincoln checking a few of the monitors while still holding my hand. He throws me a warm smile as he settles again. “The police will question your date first and then, they’ll come to the hospital to get your statement.”

I hadn’t really thought about that. Of course, they would want to come talk to me about what happened. The problem is that I just want to move on and I’m fairly well acquainted with most of the officers in this city—Hunter is one of them. I don’t want everyone knowing about my failed date or think that I don’t love Hunter as much as I do.

Fuck.

Everyone knows me as this fierce Omega, but right now I feel small, fragile, like the city’s chewed me up and spit me out. This morning, I promised Hunter I’d be safe. We both knew I’d probably find some kind of trouble—something stupid, like mixing gummy worms with hot sauce or sneaking into a restricted server for fun. Not this. Not pulling away from a grabby Beta and slamming my head into the concrete.

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